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The association of leukocyte telomere length with exceptional longevity among older women

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Abstract

The association of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with survival to late life with intact mobility has not been adequately studied. This prospective cohort study consisted of 1451 postmenopausal women from a Women’s Health Initiative ancillary study, who were eligible, because of birth year, to survive to age 90 as of March 6, 2021. LTL was measured by Southern blot at baseline (1993–1998). Associations between LTL and survival to age 90 were evaluated using logistic regression models adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics, health factors, and lifestyle factors. Multinominal logistic regression was utilized to examine associations of LTL with survival to age 90 with or without intact mobility. Mediation analysis examined the extent to which incident coronary heart disease and stroke-mediated the association between LTL and longevity. Overall, 76.7% of women were White, and 23.3% were Black; average age at baseline was 70.4±3.5 years. Relative to death before age 90, the odds of survival to age 90 were 60% higher (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.28–2.01), the odds of survival to age 90 with mobility limitation were 72% higher (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.33–2.21), and the odds of survival to age 90 with intact mobility were 44% higher (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.06–1.95) for every one kilobase longer LTL. Absence of CHD, stroke, or CHD/stroke mediated the association of LTL with survival to age 90 by 11.1%, 37.4%, and 31.3%, respectively; however, these findings were not significant. Longer LTL was associated with higher odds of survival to age 90 among older women.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (grant numbers 75N92021D00001, 75N92021D00002, 75N92021D00003, 75N92021D00004, and 75N92021D00005). A.H.S. was supported by grants RF1AG079149 and RF1AG074345 from the National Institute on Aging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCSD-SDSU Joint-Doctoral Program in Public Health (Epidemiology), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Nhat Quang N. Thai & Alexander Ivan B. Posis

  2. Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Andrea Z. LaCroix, Alexander Ivan B. Posis & Aladdin H. Shadyab

  3. Division of Cardiology, University Heart Center, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 15, 8036, Graz, Austria

    Bernhard Haring

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Buffalo – SUNY, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Jean Wactawski-Wende

  5. Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    JoAnn E. Manson

  6. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, BA, Boston, MA, USA

    JoAnn E. Manson

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  1. Nhat Quang N. Thai
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  2. Andrea Z. LaCroix
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  4. Jean Wactawski-Wende
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  6. Alexander Ivan B. Posis
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  7. Aladdin H. Shadyab
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Contributions

Study concept and design: NT, AZL, AHS. Acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data: NT, AZL, AP, AHS. Drafting of the manuscript: NT. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: all authors. NT had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. All authors approved the final version to be published and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nhat Quang N. Thai.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Sponsor’s role

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has representation on the Women’s Health Initiative Steering Committee, which governed the design and conduct of the study, the interpretation of the data, and preparation and approval of manuscripts.

The short list of Women’s Health Initiative investigators includes the following:

Program Office: (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland) Jacques Rossouw, Shari Ludlam, Joan McGowan, Leslie Ford, and Nancy Geller

Clinical Coordinating Center: (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA) Garnet Anderson, Ross Prentice, Andrea LaCroix, and Charles Kooperberg

Investigators and Academic Centers: (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) JoAnn E. Manson; (MedStar Health Research Institute/Howard University, Washington, DC) Barbara V. Howard; (Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford, CA) Marcia L. Stefanick; (The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH) Rebecca Jackson; (University of Arizona, Tucson/Phoenix, AZ) Cynthia A. Thomson; (University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY) Jean Wactawski-Wende; (University of Florida, Gainesville/Jacksonville, FL) Marian Limacher; (University of Iowa, Iowa City/Davenport, IA) Jennifer Robinson; (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA) Lewis Kuller; (Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC) Sally Shumaker; (University of Nevada, Reno, NV) Robert Brunner

Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study: (Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC) Mark Espeland

The authors would like to thank the WHI study participants, investigators, and staff for their exceptional dedication.

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Thai, N.Q.N., LaCroix, A.Z., Haring, B. et al. The association of leukocyte telomere length with exceptional longevity among older women. GeroScience 46, 2083–2092 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00964-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00964-6

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